


Insomnia

by NekoAbi



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Discussion of insomnia, M/M, Remy almost breaks down over puns, Talk of sleep therapy, smoking mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-21
Packaged: 2020-05-16 04:24:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19310557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NekoAbi/pseuds/NekoAbi
Summary: Remy is dealing with awful insomnia and his doctor recommends him to a sleep specialist, though it’s really the receptionist who picks up that inspires Remy to go through with it.





	Insomnia

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [NotAlwaysTheVillian](https://notalwaysthevillian.tumblr.com/)'s birthday, since they love Remile!!

“Ugh, is this really necessary?” The young man was staring at the phone number written on the paper in his hand as if it were a piece of trash he’d picked up off the street.

“Yes, Mr Sanders. It is important to have every avenue explored to ensure nothing else is affecting your condition.” The doctor said, matter-of-factly. He left no room to argue.

Remy sighed exaggeratedly and stood, tossing his leather jacket back over his shoulders, “Fine. I’ll call them.” He sauntered out of the room, through the small local clinic and out to the front, where he eventually took a perch on the low wall next to the building.

“I don’t need this shit…” He muttered to himself as he rummaged around in his pocket for his phone.

All Remy had come to do was see if the doctor had any idea why his sleep patterns were getting so fucked. He’d been dealing with awful insomnia over the past month and he could think of nothing that would be causing this sudden change, so Remy thought a medical professional’s opinion would help him. Instead, all he got was a bunch of rambling nonsense that he already knew and a number to call in order to set up _another_ appointment with a completely _different_ doctor.

After tapping the number into his phone and hitting the call button, Remy leant back and waited for the call to be picked up. His foot tapped along with the ringing tone and he found himself instinctively popping a piece of flavourless gum between his lips. Finally, the call was picked up and a voice sounded on the other end.

“Hello! Thank you for calling the Alora Sleep Clinic. If you wouldn’t mind holding for just a moment?”

The oddly peppy voice caught Remy off guard for a moment. “Uh… sure?” He responded shortly after.

“Great! Don’t go anywhere! We’ll be right back!”

With that, Remy was greeted with the hold music which was almost painfully loud. For a sleep specialist, the guy running the place clearly wanted anyone who called to stay awake. Remy moved the phone away, so the noise was less likely to deafen him, but still close enough that he’d be able to hear when someone picked up. He tilted his head back to look up towards the sky.

The man currently had some time to linger on the odd man who picked up the phone. His voice was far too cheery to be real, it was almost as if he were putting on a voice like some kind of character. His inflection and word choice just reinforced it, creating an image inside Remy’s head. All he could see was this off-putting, cartoonish character sitting at a bland desk in a bland room and it was all just so… strange.

“And we’re back! Thank you for holding! How can I help you today?”

Remy was quick to put the phone back to his ear. “Yeah, alright, hi. I was told to call this place by my doctor. They want me to see a professional or something, see if there’s anything really bad about this insomnia I’ve got.” He fiddled with his free hand, almost wishing he had something between his fingers to toy with. Normally, he’d likely have a cigarette in that hand right about now, but he’d been off the things for around six weeks by this point and his roommate would likely murder him if he went back on them. Remy instead rooted around inside his pocket and pulled out a stick from an old lollypop, beginning to play with that as he listened to the man on the other end of the phone.

“Alright…” The man said, clearly tapping away at a keyboard as he input what Remy had just told him, “What’s the name of your doctor?”

Remy gave all the information that was asked of him to the receptionist on the other end, all the while still a little confused and stunned by the odd voice the man spoke with. It was becoming clear that he just spoke like that, as it never wavered, even as the call dragged on.

“Right! That’s all, folks! We’ll see you in a few weeks! Please call and let us know if there’s any problems!”

“Uh-huh, I will. See ya.” Remy ended the conversation quickly, really trying hard not to linger on the utterly random quote thrown in there at the end, along with the horrendous attempt at an imitation. Despite the awful impression, Remy could feel the corners of his mouth twitching into a fond smile as the dedication to his ‘brand’ was somewhat adorable, admirable and wholly relatable.

He could just about make out the man on the other end saying goodbye before he hung up. For the rest of the days before his appointment, Remy just couldn’t get the odd man’s voice from his head. It was almost as if it had plastered itself to the inside of his brain somehow. The man’s mannerisms, while odd and seemingly random, were endearing in a way that Remy just couldn’t comprehend.

Either way, the day finally came, and Remy pushed the door open to the sleep clinic, entering the stuffy room. The place seemed almost entirely empty, with only a slight muffled voice coming from the door behind the desk at the other end of the tiny space. Remy approached it and looked around, searching for someone to check him in or whatever they did here. It took a few minutes for someone to poke their head out from the door and do the thing they had to do.

“Please take a seat while you wait. Doctor Grove will call for you when he is ready.”

Remy did as he was told, taking a seat down on one of the two empty chairs. He pulled up his phone and scrolled through whatever he could while he waited, every now and then fanning himself with the open ends of his jacket or pulling the sunglasses down off of his eyes so he could see something more clearly.

“Someone’s determined to keep up appearances, aren’t they?”

It was such a distinct voice that Remy could place it immediately and his head snapped up to look at the man gracelessly attempting to get through the front door with his hands full of food and drink.

Remy dropped his phone in surprise. He had little care when it hit the wooden floor hard, as his screen was already badly cracked that this fall wouldn’t do much more damage. What was much more important was the man whose voice he’d been stuck on for days now.

He was gorgeous. Not conventionally so, but since when did Remy care about what others’ preferences were for potential romantic partners? He didn’t. And he definitely wasn’t about to start now, especially if it meant he was the only one interested in this fantastic specimen of a human. He was soft in all the right ways to make him look purely huggable and approachable, and yet… he did have a sense of some kind of sensuality. Maybe it was just his warm brown eyes that Remy felt himself almost falling into as if they were deep pits or perhaps it was the simple way his mouth moved as he spoke, but there was definitely _something_.

_‘Oh no, he’s not just kinda cute. He’s actually really fucking hot.’_ Remy thought to himself. He now had to make a good impression, feel out this guy and if he was interested and then pounce.

Remy purposefully lifted his sunglasses a little and obviously swept his eyes along the man’s body, making sure he saw it. He took a sip from the almost empty cardboard coffee cup next to him and set the glasses back in place, “No one else will, so why shouldn’t I?”

The receptionist laughed aloud, louder than Remy expected. He couldn’t quite tell from behind the sunglasses, but he was fairly certain he saw a light blush on the other man’s cheeks as he passed. Score 1 for him.

Remy then stood and made his way across to lean on the front of the desk, watching as the man separated the food he’d brought in with him. He slowly moved the sunglasses up and perched them on top of his head, giving him full view of this man… who he still wasn’t sure the name of. “So, am I being too forward if I ask for your name?”

“Of course not! My name’s Emile Picani!” The man grinned at Remy, as if he hadn’t just given Remy all the cards he needed.

“Well then, Emile…” Remy purposefully lingered on his name, letting it practically fall from his lips, “I’m pretty sure it’s illegal for a blush to look that good, but… it is a good colour on you.” He leant a little more towards the receptionist, almost pushing the edge into his lower stomach. It was uncomfortable, but the reaction he got was more than worth the slight discomfort.

Emile blushed an even darker shade of red and he let out a flustered giggle before chewing on his lower lip a little. He returned back to the food, avoiding Remy’s piercing gaze, “I-I’m not sure about that. I don’t think I’m the bad one of the two of us.” He sent a small glance sideways towards the leather jacket clad man who was still leaning far over the counter towards him.

As if he’d practised beforehand, Remy gasped dramatically. “Oh, honey. I’m not bad,” he lowered his voice, “I’m just drawn that way.” He flirtatiously winked before sliding the sunglasses back down to rest on his nose. The pleased giggle made his smirk grow into a genuine smile.

“Remy Sanders?” called a new voice from just a little beside them.

Their bubble was popped immediately. Emile turned towards the new arrival and smiled innocently once more, despite the clearly flustered blush coating his cheeks, “Oh, what’s up, doc?” He also held out one of the bags of food and a drink.

Remy covered his mouth with his hand, fake coughing in an attempt to cover up his laughter at the receptionist’s question. He turned to face the doctor once he’d recovered, “You’re the one I’m seeing?”

The doctor’s smile was even more vibrant and wide than Emile’s, “Yes! I’m Patton Grove. Please follow me. Thank you for the food, Emile!”

Patton led the way into his office, with Remy following behind. He purposefully sauntered slightly more exaggeratedly than usual, putting a little extra effort into the sway of his hips. Being that he heard yet another giggled from the receptionist’s desk, Remy knew that it was not at all in vain.

The session was apparently supposed to be an hour long, but it felt like an eternity. This man would just not stop making awful sleep puns. At first, they were a little charming, but they soon started to grate at Remy’s psyche. If it had to continue much further, he might have actually considered seeing someone to help with the trauma he might be left with once he walked out of this clinic. Thankfully, Patton determined that Remy had no major issues with his sleep and that his bout of insomnia was likely from some kind of lifestyle change and would hopefully improve over time.

Remy could not wait to get out of the room soon enough. He thanked the man for his time, whilst backing towards the door. He quickly and quietly shut it behind him, letting out a long and heavy breath.

“Everything alright?”

Remy jumped in surprise, turning sharply to find Emile standing just behind him. He quickly composed himself, “Oh, I’m fine. But we both know that.” He smirked slightly, enjoying his personal compliment.

Emile scrutinised him for a moment, exaggeratedly scrunching up his face in a way that make Remy’s heart both skip a beat and inflate with affection. “Well, you might also _have_ a fine…”

“…What?”

“Since you’ve been, _resisting a rest._ ” Emile immediately broke out into a grin after his pun.

Remy stood still for a moment, merely blinking. Then he doubled over in laughter. Pure, joyful laughter. Normally, he’d maybe given the pun a chuckle at best, but this man was really too much. His joke was not just amusing, but his delivery was absolutely precious. While the prospect of another pun after dealing with the awful doctor was horrifying before, the man before him had managed to make him enjoy one anyway. Remy was busy wiping away a couple of tears from his eyes when Emile spoke once more.

“No one’s ever laughed at my joke before! I’ve tried that on every person who’s come in!” His eyes were shining bright, looking at Remy as though he’d given him a brand-new puppy and the best news of his life at the same time.

Remy raised an eyebrow as he smiled at the receptionist, “I’d be more than happy to laugh at more of your jokes over coffee…”

The offer of a date clearly didn’t reach Emile for a couple of seconds, but once the realisation set in, he nodded his head frantically, “I’d love that! Just a moment!” He hurried to the front desk, with Remy quick to follow behind him. He peered out from over the top of his glasses as Emile scribbled down something on a piece of ripped out paper. “My number. For you!”

Emile held out the note towards the leather jacketed man, waiting for him to take it. But, he didn’t seem like he was going to, and so Emile dropped his arm a little, ready for the rejection. Then a horridly cracked phone screen was in front of his face.

“How about you put it in yourself?”

Unphased about seeming over-eager, the receptionist typed in and saved his number. “There!”

“Thanks. What time do you finish today?” Remy asked, pocketing his phone once more, still leaning casually on the desk.

“Um,” Emile turned to check the clock on the wall behind him, “In about half an hour? Why?”

“I’ll wait for you. I can go that long without another coffee, but I’m definitely gonna need one after that.”

Emile was concerned by that statement. He waited until Remy was seated back in the chair he’d been sat in previously. Emile knew he shouldn’t pry, but he couldn’t help asking, “How much coffee do you drink on a normal day?”

Remy had to think for a moment. “Probably around… 10 or so cups. Why?”

“I think I figured out your insomnia problem.”


End file.
